Title Page

Masthead – The masthead is easy to recognise due to its font style. It is a simple san-sarif font that uses a lot of curves. The ‘I’ has a stylised dot on it which creates a brand for the magazine. On top of these things it is also all in lower-case which makes it stand out from the rest. Also, because it is a well established magazine, the masthead goes behind part of the main image.

Puff – There is a small puff just under the masthead which refers to something specific to the time the magazine was released. The use of the word ‘massive’ makes the reader believe it is an important, must-read article.

Main image – The main image goes against convention in more than one way. Firstly, the obvious one in the way that the image is not a photo but instead a cartoon of an artist. This makes the magazine stand out from the rest and potential readers will be drawn to the magazine. I think it works quite well because the artist that it is of is well known in the dance music scene and also his style is very iconic of him and therefore he is easy to recognise in cartoon form. Another thing that goes against convention is the fact that it is a long shot rather than a medium close-up. This gives the image a very different look. Finally, the subject is not looking at the camera. This gives a feeling of separation between the reader and the subject. The mise-en-scene conveys a feeling that his music is exploding through the scene due to him sitting on a bomb. His black clothes are associated with the club scene.

Barcode – The barcode is in an empty space in the corner as per convention with the price and date next to it.

Main coverline – The main coverline is noticeably larger than the rest of the coverlines. It also follows the colour scheme of the writing on the page with yellow and black. A different font is used and a 3D shadow effect has been added to make it stand out even more.

Cover lines – The coverlines have both yellow and black font colours, following the colour scheme of the page. They talk about things that the target audience would find interesting to lure them into reading and buying the magazine. The black highlight behind them makes them stand out more and look visually appealing.

Contents Page

Title – The title and the magazine name is at the top of the page, following convention. The stylised font of Mixmag creates a brand for the magazine and is something people will recognise. The title (contents) is the same colour as ‘Mixmag’ so that the page fits together and they relate to one another.

Date – The date is clearly shown at the bottom of the page which follows the codes and conventions of a contents page.

General text – At the bottom of the page there is a small section about the free CD that was included with the magazine. It tells you a bit about it and intrigues the audience into listening to it. This goes against the general convention of contents pages as you do not normally see this sort of thing on a contents page.

Contents – The contents of the magazine are labelled clearly down the side of the page with page numbers to the left of each article and a small subheading just underneath to give the reader a better idea of what is included in that particular article. The colours link to the rest of the writing to make it fit in.

Where else? – In a small section in the bottom corner we are given a website where we can find them. This helps us find them elsewhere

Image – The photo on this page is extremely eye catching due to the action happening within it. The mise-en-scene shows gives us an image of clubbing due to the dressed up clothes and hair of the girls and the guy being topless. It conveys an idea of fun through the emotions on the club-goers faces.

Colour scheme – The background is a solid black colour which sort of makes us feel like we are in a club because it is very dark. The white and yellow colours are continued on from the front cover which connects the two pages.

Double Page Spread

Title - The title is very stylised and unique and therefore stands out to the reader. The font is san-serif and has some extra lines here and there. The wording is also intriguing as the word orchestral is not normally seen in this genre. Because of this a reader will be interested in why it is here in this magazine. Colour scheme – The colour scheme is very simplistic and relates to the title of the page. The darkness is emphasised using light in the images. Also all of the writing is white which creates unity on the pages and makes it all feel linked together.Subtitle – There is a couple of sentences in the corner of the page which gives the reader a little more information before they start reading the article. This has been made interesting but at the same time sort of a cliff hanger so that they read the article to find out the whole story.

Article – The actual article follows all the codes and conventions of a double page spread. Firstly, it is in 4 evenly spaced columns which makes it look neat. Secondly, the colour of the font is white which matches the colour scheme of the page.

Imagery – The first image on the left shows the band in poses. They are wearing shirts ties and jumpers which is typical of more upper class music i.e. classical. This is ideal as the article is about combining classical music with dance music.